Where Grass is Always Greener
by x Bout as Stable as the Wind x
Summary: It's Easter, and miraculously, Dick, Tim, Damian, and even Jason have all been rounded up for an elaborate egg hunt that Alfred and Bruce have set up. "Don't laugh – it's not as easy as it looks." Especially when getting lost in the woods becomes a factor. [non slash, Bat family bonding, Bat brothers bonding]
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Happy Easter 2015, everyone! Here's a fun story for you all featuring the Bat family, even Jason! Please, read and review, even if all you say is "good job", it means a lot. This is a short chapter, but the next I suspect will be longer. Also, this is mostly based on the New 52 versions of the Bat-fam, so Jason is starting to get back in with the family and isn't all psycho. :)**

**Heavily inspired by paganpunk2's writings. Check her out.**

* * *

"This is stupid."

"C'mon, Dami, it'll be fun! I promise."

"Egg hunts are for children."

"You _are _a child, genius," Tim rolled his eyes from across the room, where he was stripping from his fancy sport coat and pulling on a comfortable t-shirt.

Damian stuck his tongue out at the older boy, glowering. "I am an _adolescent._ _Children_ do not do half of what I am capable of, which includes getting involved in deadly conflict to protect the innocents and hinder the malevolent. So please, Drake, keep your incompetent comments to yourself."

The teen stuck his tongue out in response, eliciting a growl from Damian and a wince from Dick. "Nuh-uh," he broke in, gently guiding Damian farther away from Tim. "No fighting on Easter – that's like going around saying 'humbug' on Christmas. Let's all just get along, just for today, okay?"

Damian hissed and jerked his arm away as Dick attempted to pull on the child's jacket. "Seriously, Grayson, I am more than capable of dressing myself. Also, how do you expect me to uphold a cheerful demeanor when I am being forced against my will to participate in juvenile activities that are below me?" He paused, and frowned, barely concealing an eye roll. "Really, Grayson? Isn't puppy pouting a bit beneath a twenty-year-old man?"

"Not if it convinces my little brothers to all have some fun _together _for once," the young man replied easily. "Please, Dami, just _try _to have fun. For me, okay? I _really _want this to happen."

Tim eyed the heartfelt plead with a mixture of sympathy and uneasiness. "Still think that Jason's gonna show up?"

Dick turned to look at him, conviction flashing in his eyes. "I know he is. I texted him again this morning, and he said he'd meet us at the park."

"Did you tell him what we're doing?"

"Nooo… but he'll figure it out when we get there."

"I say as soon as he hears the word 'egg' he shoots us all in the feet and takes off," Damian said sourly, once again tearing himself away from Dick's grip as the older boy attempted to comb his spiky ebony hair with his fingers. "Seriously, Grayson, I am twelve! I am more than capable of dressing myself!"

Dick was frowning now. "C'mon, give Jay a break, okay? He'll be there, he won't be shooting _anyone_, and we're all going to have fun."

Tim finished pulling on his shirt and socks and crossed his arms, slowly striding towards his two brothers. "Demon kid has a point, Dick," he said, ignoring Damian's glare. "I know you're thrilled about Jason taking part in the family again, but you've still got to be careful. He's still the Red Hood."

"A Red Hood with the Batman symbol splayed across his chest. And remember it's been _weeks _since any of his targets have died from their wounds. He's developed a knee and foot fetish with his aim – he's stopped killing."

Tim nodded, but didn't look convinced. Damian finished dressing himself and bolted for the doorway, calling over his shoulder, "I still find all of this senseless folly!" Dick sighed as he stood up, both he and Tim exchanged a look, and then both headed downstairs.

"Ready?" Bruce greeted from the kitchen, setting down the mug he'd been holding and smiling softly as his sons entered. "Alfred's already in the car. He's been in there ever since you three headed up to get dressed."

"Yeah, sorry we're running late," Dick said as he leaned against the breakfast island. "Babs invited me to go to the Easter Mass with her, and then Timmy came along too – it was awesome that you came, by the way, Tim – and I didn't know it was later than the others services, so…"

"Relax," Bruce chuckled, shaking his head. "He isn't mad. When is Alfred _ever _mad?"

"When we sneak cookies off the cooling rack?"

"Leave our stuff lying around the house?"

"Use the chandelier in the hall as a target practice?"

Everyone looked at Damian upon the last statement, and the boy subconsciously shrunk behind Dick. When his father opened his mouth to speak, he glared. "Don't. Pennyworth already lectured me – thoroughly. I have not done so since."

"Good," Bruce replied, rubbing a hand over his face at the thought of birdarangs ricocheting around Wayne Manor. "Alright, you all ready to go?"

"_Yes_! Let's go!" Dick tore out of the kitchen and out the front door, leaving the others behind to stare. Tim shook his head, though he was grinning. "He's having _way _too much fun than he should be. It's unhealthy."

"Well, let's not disappoint him then," said Bruce, looking pointedly at Damian, who shrugged. "No fighting, no arguing. No physical harm to each other, and let's all try to be pleasant. When we meet with Jason…" He swallowed a bit, but he'd been getting used to his second eldest showing up for family events more often. He couldn't deny the fact pleased him, even if Red Hood and Batman were still at odds. "…when we meet with Jason, let's all be nice and get along, okay?"

"I still don't get how Grayson managed to convince Todd to take part in this insanity," Damian mumbled as he started heading for the front door. "I still think he's scheming something. We shouldn't be letting our guard down – we should be bringing _something_."

"Uh-uh, no weapons, remember? Alfred's rules," corrected Bruce as he herded his two youngest outside towards the car, where Alfred was awaiting and Dick bouncing on the seat inside. "Tim, you okay with all this?"

The teen thought a moment, chewing on his nail, before nodding. "Yeah. Jason's been getting… better. I don't trust him all the way yet, but… yeah, yeah, I think we'll be okay." _I hope._

"Good. C'mon, keep Dick waiting any longer and he'll explode."

"In an eruption of rainbows and kitties no doubt."

"No doubt."


	2. Chapter 2

"Quit poking me!"

"I'm not poking you!"

"I swear, Drake, I am a millisecond away from decapitating you and…"

"Right, as if you could even get close to me."

"I'll just get you while you're poking me."

"I'm not poking you!"

By this point, Bruce was sure his brain and ear drums were completely destroyed as he grit his teeth and tightened his grip on the steering wheel. "Damian, Tim, I thought we agreed we'd be _nice _today," he ground out, taking his eyes off the road for a moment to glance at Alfred. The elder seemed to be torn between amusement and aggravation.

Damian sunk into his window seat, snarling. "I'll be 'nice' when that imbecile Drake stops touching me against my will."

"Wow. That didn't sound creepy," huffed Tim beneath his breath as he shoved his earbud back in place and hit play on his iPod.

Bruce shook his head slightly and then glanced back quick at his eldest son, who was wedged in between his brothers. "Alive back there, chum?"

Dick smiled, his cheerful demeanor having survived the ride over to the forest park Bruce had rented out for the day. So far. "Hanging in alright."

"I must say I marvel your perseverance, Master Richard," Alfred praised him from the passenger seat. "Had it been I sitting in between the two younger, more agitated masters, I fear I might've rejected my no weapons policy and brought out my ol' Lily to do the reprimanding."

Dick snickered while Tim and Damian exchanged looks. "Yeah, I remember ol' Lily. She taught me not to go snooping in Bruce's stuff, definitely."

Damien, small mind now abuzz with frustrated curiosity, stretched up and tugged Dick's ear until his brother leaned down. "Grayson, who in heaven's sakes is ol' Lily?"

Dick smiled at him but shook his head. He ruffled his brother's hair, to the youngest Wayne's chagrin, as he explained, "Nuh-uh, sorry baby bird. No introductions to ol' Lily until you deserve it."

Damian scowled, crossing his arm. "Please tell me it's not something as undignified or sickeningly classic such as a 'wooden spoon' or some other form of punishment."

"Hey, I said no hints. Just behave – Alfred doesn't joke."

"No, I do not," the Englishman confirmed from the front, just as Bruce released a relieved breath. "Everyone cheer up," he commanded. "We're here."

"Finally. I feared Joker-level insanity would be contracted if I were trapped in here with Drake for any longer." Damian glared at the third adopted son of his father, but Tim had his iPod on and his eyes closed, head slightly bobbing to the music. _Imbecile_. Sneering, the child leaned back in his seat as Bruce parked the car.

Ascension Grove was an understatement. Ascension Forest-that-you'll-never-find-you-way-out-of-alive-should-you-be-careless was a much better title in Bruce's mind as he and his variety of a family climbed out of the black vehicle, 'ooh-ing' and 'ah-ing' and 'why are we even here-ing' from Damian. "I remember you brought me here as a kid!" Dick exclaimed giddily, soft breeze tousling his ebony hair and making the young man seem _that _much more like an excited child.

"You were going crazy being cooped up in the Mansion only a few months after you arrived," Bruce remembered fondly, allowing a bright smile to break through his usually stoic shell. "I rented out the entire park – we have the whole day."

"Sweet!" The un-uniformed Nightwing glanced around the empty parking a lot, and his happiness dampened a bit. "Um… anyone see Jay?"

Silence fell over as everyone noticed their car was the only one in the entire large, dirt covered lot. Bruce, attempting to instantly quench the flicker of disappointment entering his chest, cleared his throat and attracted everyone else's attention. "Give him a few minutes. He's farther away than we are from this location, and he doesn't have a Wayne vehicle to take him." A pause. "I… have no idea if he owns anything to get around in. I should've sent a car for him…"

"And you would have proceeded in frightening him away," Alfred reminded him kindly. "Let's not forget that the Wayne lifestyle is a bit… foreign… to Master Jason after all these years. Surely sending a chauffeur to Old Gotham would've given him enough of an uncomfortable sensation to keep him from coming at all."

Dick agreed. "Don't beat yourself up, Bruce. Jason has a really cool bike he got a few months ago. Even better than the R-cycle, I think." Damian rolled his eyes on the comment about the Robin bike but said nothing, just continued leaning against the car and kicking at stones.

Bruce, however, was fully interested now. Usually discussion of their vigilante lives would be completely unacceptable outside of costume; but the park _was _empty. He'd made sure of it. He'd even combed the area thoroughly himself. It was secure. "So… Jason _showed _you the new bike? Personally?"

"Heck, he let me _ride _it. I think maybe Roy let him have it from Green Arrow's stash, I dunno." The younger man fell silent for a moment, before he added, more quietly, "I've ridden it a few times, actually. On, um, patrol. Occasionally."

Alfred's eyes traveled north in surprise. "You've… gone on patrol with Master Jason recently?"

"… Yeah. Not that often, but he's invited me over to help him on a few cases. And then there are the times I just show up. He was kinda pissed about it for a while, but I think it's okay with him now. I went three days ago. We got pizza afterwards." Dick's voice trailed off, and he looked around again. "See him?"

Bruce shook his head, struggling to ignore this new information that Red Hood was allowing one of Batman's partners into his territory. Hell, _inviting _one of the Batman's partners into his territory. It shouldn't surprise him really that Dick had managed to reconnect to the resurrected Jason Todd – they'd always had a special bond – but still all this had gone unnoticed by him, and that was unacceptable. He'd thought he'd been keeping firm, complete tabs on his offspring lately. Obviously, that was wrong. He opened his mouth to inquire some more, but the approaching roar of an engine cut him off; and even the Batman couldn't suppress the smile that appeared as soon as he saw the familiar, broad figure in leather and denim come roaring up the pathway. "You're right, Dick, that is lovely bike."

Dick spun around, grinning ear to ear and immediately jogging over to where Jason was parking his ride several feet away. "Jay!"

Jason Todd stripped his biker's helmet off his head, revealing his usual cocky smirk and headful of shining black hair and white bangs. "Sup, Dickiebird."

Bruce watched, slightly amazed, as Dick slung an arm around his brother; and then as Jason actually _returned _the affectionate embrace before the two both looked over at the rest of the family. Jason's face visibly tensed, and Bruce looked away.

Jason stared, sucking in a deep breath and watching Bruce, Alfred, and the two pain-in-the-necks before turning back to Dick. "Sooo… what are we even doing here? Hiking? Cause you know I hate hiking."

"I know you do, and we're actually, um… hunting. We're doing a type of hunting. But not animals, because that's illegal and the poor animals here wouldn't know to run and that would just be not fair…"

Jason coughed, chuckling and growling at the same time. "Dick. Focus."

"Right. Um, well, you'll find out soon enough. Do you… ya wanna go say hi to everyone now? Get that swept under the rug 'fore we start."

Jason shrugged. "Whatever. Heh. Demon spawn's already glaring. Sure ya gave the kid his rabies shots lately?"

Dick pursed his lips but his jollity didn't dampen. "Don't worry, he'll play nice. They _all _will. We'll have fun, I promise. C'mon, let's go." He grabbed his younger brother's hand and began dragging him across the lot. "Heck, even _Bruce _is excited about today; and you _know _how seldom that happens."

Jason nodded, but didn't answer. _Dickie's having a great time already. Demon spawn's glaring, but that's typical. Tim's… he seems okay. Wow, he's waving. Alfred's grinning, and Bruce is… _His eyes widened. _Bruce is smiling too. They're all _happy_._

_Wonder how long it will all last before I wreck it all_.

They rejoined everyone just as Damian shoved Tim into the Wayne car, furious.

"DRAKE, STOP POKING ME!"


	3. Chapter 3

"Damian, get off of him!"

Bruce easily wrapped his arms around his youngest and yanked the cursing boy off his brother. Tim was released from where he'd been pinned to the car and frowned deeply, straightening his shirt and stuffing his hands into his pockets. "Jerk."

"Release me!" Damian struggled indignantly until his father released him, his small body wriggling out of Bruce's grip and then taking on a defensive stance as he scowled at Tim. "Tell that galling boor that if he lays another finger on me that I shall…"

"I'm not threatening _anyone_," Bruce said sternly, noticing Dick and Jason approaching. Anxious not to scare his second eldest away by his family's misbehavior, he leaned down close to the boy's ear and whispered a few harsh words. Both Tim and Alfred raised eyebrows as Damian's face paled, and then his head nodded quickly in agreement with the Batman, but neither spoke up. Instead, Alfred was the first to turn and address Jason, who met his gaze with a nod. "Hey, Alfie."

"Greetings, Master Jason." The elder smiled fondly, and Jason found he couldn't help but return to warm gaze. He'd never, ever had an issue with Alfred Pennyworth, and that sentiment went both ways.

Except that time he'd used the chandelier in the hallway for target practice; but he was pretty sure he couldn't have been the _only _one to try that.

He turned to find Tim eyeing him, calculating him no doubt, using those detective smarts to scrutinize his every breath. He coughed down his minor irritation and instead nodded his head in the kid's direction.

Tim returned the nod, satisfied when he saw no guns or knives on his adopted older brother's frame. "Jason."

Jason's lips twitched. "Timothy."

First time he'd been called his full name in a while, and it irked him – but of course that was why Jason chose to say that instead of 'Tim'. Still, it was better than _Replacement_ or any of the other foul names he'd once been called by the former Robin. He settled for a slight eye roll in the man's direction before turning back to glaring at Damian. Damian, whom Bruce was now nudging to say hello.

The boy growled before hissing, "Todd," in Jason's general direction before spinning around and refusing to look at the rest of the family.

Well, he hadn't been expecting anymore. He didn't even give a response to the demon spawn's greeting, instead choosing to tackle the elephant in the room. He squared his shoulders and put on the his best poker face – he didn't trust his true emotions at the moment, mostly because he couldn't decipher them. He'd been stopping by the Manor often now, coming over for birthdays and holidays and catching up with Dick mostly. He'd even had a few pleasant conversations with Bruce without either of them coming to blows or even cusses. But Batman was a blank card, capable of having anything written on his sides; he hesitated a moment before sticking out his hand. "Bruce."

Bruce smiled tightly, but relaxed a bit as he shook his son's hand firmly. "Glad you could make it, Jason."

"Likewise."

A period of silence. _Wow. What a conversation. Glad this isn't _awkward _or anything like that_.

Finally Dick couldn't stand the stillness any longer, and bounced up and down giddily. "Bruce, ya ready to announce what's happening today?"

"Yeah. What's got Dickiebird dancing 'round like a kid in a candy store?" Jason added, smirking. "He's on a sugar high but I don't see no sugar."

Dick grinned, waggling his eyebrows. "Yeah, Alfie hid the Easter candy real good this year."

Damian scoffed from where he was brooding on the other side of the car. "Really, Grayson? I've met toddlers with more self-control and dignity than you."

"Least Dick's graduated to Kevlar armor. Still wearing 'em black tights, kid?" Jason countered hotly, defending his brother while Bruce watched with a raised eyebrow. Dick beamed while the older man finally shook himself out of his stupor and cleared his throat.

"I, um, I actually thought Dick already told you what we were doing here today, but I guess not…"

"Yeah. Hunting, right? Without real animals, because Dick's become Mother Earth since I saw him last?"

"What's wrong with Mother Earth?"

Bruce and Jason simultaneously rolled their eyes before the pater put on his best Batman face. Because Jason thought they were _hunting_. Damn.

"Actually, we're…"

Tim, however, broke in before he could finish. "You don't actually know what we're hunting until we start. It's part of the game." He couldn't hold back a smile as Jason, bless his dullness, just nodded. "Okay, I can get that."

Alfred smothered a smile, just wondering how this would all turn out, while Bruce seemed irritated that Tim was prolonging the childish deception longer than necessary. Damian snorted from his position behind the car, and Dick white plastic bags at everyone to carry their 'prey' in, obviously believing baskets would give away the secret too early. Then, he grabbed Jason's sleeve and began dragging him towards the large park entryway, the entire forest serving as their hunting grounds for the day. Tim followed, and Bruce shoved Damian after them.

Then, the man lingered near the car with Alfred, watching the four boys race towards the park, Dick holding them altogether. He smiled and frowned at the same time. Smown. Aaand now he was thinking like Dick.

"How long before they kill each other?" he murmured, and Alfred chuckled.

"You should give the young masters more credit, Master Bruce."

"I am. I'll give then ten minutes."

**Ten Minutes Later**

Jason stared at the little plastic green egg lying tucked underneath the bush. In fact, now that he looked around with his trained senses, he spotted _dozens _of the childish objects all around. Unbelievable.

"Damn you, Dick!"


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: sorry for any OOCness, just wanted some more fun in this chapter :)**

* * *

"Damn you, Dick!"

Dick and Tim winced from their position a few feet away, their bags already holding the weight of a few colored goodies, and chuckled. "He sounds pissed," the younger of the pair declared, and Dick grinned. "Aw, give him time. He'll _love _it."

Tim eyed where Jason was stomping the plastic egg into the ground. "Yeeeah… define love for me, Dick."

"It's a passionate emotion where…"

"Stop right there. I was joking."

Dick snickered and happily picked up an egg lying near his feet, twirling the little object around between his fingers before dropping it into his bag just as a flushed Damian came stomping towards them. The look upon the child's face was so comically indignant Tim had to smother the chortle that rose in his throat.

"I've made up my mind – I do not want to do this," the youngest Wayne spat venomously, in that dark tone he used against criminals when he was under the Robin mask. "This is a stupid, idiotic idea for stuffy children, and I refuse to be a part of it."

The Grayson pout returned. "Dami, you haven't even found any yet."

Damian scoffed. "That's exactly what happens when you _refuse_ to do something, Grayson – it does not get done."

"Don't laugh, and don't underestimate Bruce and Alfred's hiding/plotting powers. It's not as easy as it looks…"

"Please. A snobby child with his chin in the air and eyes filled with tears could find all these pathetic treats in a number of minutes…"

"Exactly why you should do it," Tim offered, grinning cheekily.

Damian glared.

"DICK!"

Jason's roar followed the mentioned-Jason as the young man stormed over, growling, one hand crushing a beat-up egg while the other swung the plastic bag; fleetingly, Tim wondered if Jason could manage to strangle them all with that single piece of trash if he wished. Probably. He'd seen the Red Hood do more damage with less than that.

Dick simply grinned, enjoying himself way too much. And not even in the mean, sarcastic way; just genuine amusement. "Hey, Jay – find any yet?"

"You're dead."

"Oh, come on! Just try it! Bruce and Alfred worked really hard!"

"Don't care. Get me the hell outta here – I didn't sign up for this."

"You promised to spend the day with us!"

"I thought you meant doing something Bruce-like! Y' know, boring and brooding, like being lectured on the stupidity of holidays or maybe being taught precise details on every single tree in this freaking forest," Jason said hotly. "Didn't know the man was actually planning on _celebrating _Easter… it's a pain enough to get him to acknowledge birthdays, Thanksgiving, _Christmas_. Why the _hell _did he do _this_?"

"Maybe to prove that all the activities he plans aren't 'boring and brooding'," Dick replied easily, moving forward and grabbing Jason's arm, tugging the younger boy deeper into the woods. "It's actually supposed to be pretty tough, like training mixed in with tradition. I think you'll like it."

Another growl. "Let me go, Dick. And how hard could this thing be?! I just found one of the damn things in front of me less than two minutes into the 'hunt'!"

Dick just grinned knowingly, continuing to lead his three brothers towards the lip of a small hill. "_Trust me_, okay? If you're still lamed-out after ten minutes, you can leave and never return? Deal?"

Jason raised an eyebrow at that – the fact that Dick was willing to throw a deal like that meant the guy was pretty confident he would have fun. Which was ridiculous, _beyond_ ridiculous… but it did peak his curiosity. Just a bit. "Fine," he agreed after a moment of deep thought. Then, as added emphasis that he was still pissed, "I mean it Dick – if we cross this hill and there's a bunch of colorful plastic things, I'm _going _to hit you. Sunday or not, Easter or not."

"Like we were expecting anything else," Tim responded under his breath, Damian adding a "T-t," as well. Jason turned to scowl at the both of them, and they shut up. Good. He was trusting Dick on this – not those two. They were getting more… tolerable. Yes. But that was it. No sudden blooming of brotherly love yet. Just tolerance. Bare tolerance.

They jogged the rest of the way up the hill, during which Damian grumbled and Jason cursed and Tim watched silently. What neither boy was expecting – except Dick, from his irritating lopsided grin – was Bruce to be waiting near a tree at the top, arms crossed over his chest as he watched them all pleasantly. Which made no sense, because Bruce was never pleasant. Was he?"

"The heck?" Jason challenged as soon as he spotted the man, while Tim's eyebrows traveled north in surprise. "Bruce, how did you get up here so…"

"Snuck around while you four were… discussing… things," was the simple answer. "Came to give you boys a proper send off. Those eggs you just passed were simple warm ups, with a bit of candy inside. Which you've already discovered." He nodded at the chocolate coating Jason's boot and palm. "You can keep searching for those if you want, but I suspect after you see the _real _hunt, you'd rather leave those behind for later."

"Real hunt? What, you haven't cracked out the grass baskets and pink bunny suits yet?" Jason countered, still annoyed and aggravated; he added, though, in a less spiteful tone, "Please tell me Alfred is running around dressed as a big fluffy rabbit – that might make this… tolerable." Shit, how many times had he used the t-word today?

Bruce's lips twitched upward as Dick spun around to face them, shaking his head. "Nuh-uh, bunny costume is _mine_, and no one touches it but me. Break into my closet for it and I'll break you."

Everyone stared, and Jason couldn't help but feel slightly weirded out at how _serious _Dick sounded; the feeling intensified when the older boy shot him that creepy, knowing smirk that always sent chills up his spine. _He's joking, just to make the situation more bearable for me and the baby demon behind me. It's just a joke… right? He's joking? Oh God, I bet he's not joking. _ Dick Grayson, aka Nightwing, was like a Teddy Bear whose best friends were My Little Pony's and ran around with a bazooka and tanks during Friday the 13th. A scary combination of childish characteristics combined with lethal ability; and the young man pulled it off _so well_.

Jason turned away the awkwardness could stretch any longer. Dick laughed quietly as he did so.

_ D. _

Dick was alien, that had to be the only explanation. Either that, or Bruce let him have one too many bowls of Sugar Bomb cereal while watching Power Puff Girls when he was a kid. Wayne couldn't have known any better back then anyway, so Jason settled on that explanation and stopped the stupid conversation in his head immediately after.

Bruce watched all four of his sons a while longer before nodding. "Alright, let's get started. You have until sundown to find your main prizes – if not, you'll have to wait and _earn _them back at the Manor in order to have them."

Tim was genuinely confused now. "Wait… main prizes? I thought this was an egg hunt."

Damian huffed. "He means the main prize being _double _chocolate eggs, Drake. Or maybe yours is a really large egg with Bieber and cat posters inside – we all know about your secret fetish."

Tim was so irritated by this point that he just rolled his eyes and let it go.

Bruce smiled. "Actually, I can't tell you what the prizes are; but I'm confident you'll be satisfied once you find all the pieces of the map?"

"Map?"

"Each egg you find will have a piece of a map within; find all the eggs, complete your map, and then locate your prize. Each of you have your own color: Dick is blue, Jason, you're red, Tim has green, and Damian will be orange."

Damian snickered. "Look, Drake, he picked a color according to the complexion of your face."

Tim had started blocking out Damian after the egg and poster comment from earlier.

"So we just wander around the forest looking for eggs?" Jason questioned, though there was more interest in his voice now. "Can't be that hard."

"Well, I'll let you take a look at Ascension Grove yourself and let you decide." He stepped back, watching Dick's face light up as he knew the young man remembered the beauty and complexity of the park well. _Don't underestimate the terrain_, he warned each of his boy's mentally as he watched them ascend the hill the rest of the way so they could see over the park fully. _Be careful. Have fun_.

_Wish Alfred would've let me bring at least _one _explosive batarang._

The brothers approached the hill, looked up… and then stopped all at once, gaping. Jason actually let his mouth go slightly slack as he stared at three waterfalls, large stone sculptures rising out of the lagoon's, with rickety plank bridges connecting all the structures. Thick woodland surrounded the water, and one massive cliff was riddled with cavern entrances and dark tunnels. An actual dark sanded beach was below as well, and he couldn't believe he hadn't been to or heard of this place till now. He could only imagine the druggies and criminals that made this spot their hideout under the cover of night – it was a perfect hiding place.

As if reading his mind, Bruce spoke up behind him. "This park was closed down for quite a while because of damages and such. Wayne Enterprises recently invested to have it renovated and then reopened; it isn't even officially open yet, actually. So this is the perfect opportunity for this activity." A pause. "Don't be careless. No one will carry any equipment with them, so be alert. Think of it as training if you have to; just don't be foolish or underestimate the danger here. It was closed for a _reason_, realize. While W.E. has made this park safer, it still can't be totally foolproof."

Danger. Risk. No equipment but their wits and four stupid white bags. Jason suddenly didn't want to leave.

Dick turned to him with that knowing smile, and flashed his teeth, eyes twinkling. "Well? Whose ready?"


	5. Chapter 5

The bridges were rickety, wet, and held together with wood and string. And they had to cross it. Never one to shy from a risk, Jason couldn't help but smirk at Tim's pale face and Damian's raised eyebrow.

Ah, how glad he was that he hadn't left earlier. This was priceless.

"You sure Bruce said that _all _the bridges were cleared for safety?" Tim asked uncertainly, tapping the first old board with his foot. The thing creaked. "Cause this one seems… old. Like, dangerously old."

"Yeah, he checked it all over, then checked it _again_," Dick replied, smiling. "If you still want, though, I'll go first. We can all go over one at a time if that'd make you feel saf…"

Jason didn't wait; he pushed himself forward and stomped onto the rickety old bridge. Dragging Tim along with him.

"What?! Jason! Jason, let _go _of me!" Indignant and irritated, Tim pulled his arm out of Jason's grip; and then frozen as he realized he was already halfway across the bridge. _Ugh_. "Jason, what are you doing… Jason!"

Todd smirked at the younger boy as he began jumping up and down on the creaking planks, not even bothering to hang onto the flimsy rope guard rails on either side. "C'mon, Baby Bird, can't be 'fraid of falling if ya wanna fly!"

"Cut that out!" Tim wasn't scared. Red Robin didn't _do _scared. He did nervous, anxious, worried, slightly panicked, and frantic… but not scared.

"Cut what out? _This_?!" The older boy began swaying, rocking the bridge.

"JASON!"

From solid land, Dick and Damian watched with mixed emotions. "Todd will get the both of them killed," Damian stated bluntly, crossing his arms and watching the scene. He glanced upwards at the older boy standing next to him. "Shouldn't you be stopping them, Grayson?"

Dick's lips twitched into a happy smirk. "Why? Can't you see, Dami? They're _bonding_."

Damian looked back to where Tim was now threatening to knock Jason off the bridge to save his own life, where Jason then nearly tripped Tim and almost had the boy fall off. "That isn't bonding, Grayson. That's passive aggression; soon to be transformed into _actual _aggression." Grayson could be such a fool at times.

For instance, the big goof was still grinning. "Aw, c'mon, Dami! You have to look between the lines, see the messages that _aren't _being said. They're actually having a brother moment here."

"But…"

"If Jay had really wanted Timmy dead, he'd _be _dead by now. Jason's having fun teasing, and Tim is enjoying it; if he weren't, he'd already have run off the bridge by now."

A snort. "Either that, or Drake fears he'll trip over his two left feet and plummet to his demise." Jason rocked the bridge again, and Damian scowled. "Seriously, Grayson, you should stop that buffoon of a marksman before he kills Drake!"

Dick looked down at the boy for a moment, and then laughed ecstatically.

Damian glared. "What?"

Dick pat him on the back cheerfully. "I just realized that you're _worried_ for Tim! You care!"

"I… I DO NOT!"

"Don't be ashamed, Dami, that's really, really sweet of you…"

"I am not SWEET! And I am not _worried _about that melodramatic, foolhardy, weakling of a Einstein Drake! Grayson… STOP LAUGHING!"

The horrified/furious look on the child's face only made his amusement grow, but Dick forced his chuckles down so that they were barely audible, and stopped petting Damian's head. "Okay, okay, Damian. Calm down." He let silence follow as they both returned to watch Jason torture Tim.

"Jason, you're gonna get us both _killed_…!"

"Been there, done that. I call first dibs on the Lazarus Pit, though. I wanna be alive ta see you come out of that slime pool, shaking and gasping and screaming 'I told ya so'."

The comment took Tim back a bit, though he didn't show it. Jason _must _have improved much over the past few weeks if he was able to talk about the _Lazarus Pit_. And _joke _about it. A quick look over his shoulder to see Dick's smile told him his brother was impressed, but not surprised. _Of course he's not. He's Dick_. He turned back to Jason, some of his annoyance having dissipated. "I'd rather _none _of us die today," he said reasonably. "How about we settle this on the other side. On _land_. Solid land. Safe land…"

Jason barked out a laugh, eyes narrowing as he continued laughing in that creepy, Jason-like, I'm-gonna-have-fun-with-you-in-a-dreadful-way. "Hang tight, Baby Bird. Party hasn't started yet."

"Jason!" Tim grabbed for the rope railing desperately as the bridge began bouncing up and down, side to side. "Gaaarh… _damn _it, Jason!"

"Ooh, Timothy Drake usin' some _language_!"

"Jason!"

"_Jason_," the older boy mocked, white bangs falling before his laughing blue eyes as he smirked. "Geez, Baby Bird, you're so… I don't even have a word to describe _this_." He used his hand to gesture at Tim's pale face and raging eyes.

Alarm bells rang in the un-uniformed Red Robin's mind. _He's trying to kill you. Just like you thought – you can't trust him. He'll kill you right now, and Dick and Damian will only see an accident, while you'll see that the Red Hood hasn't changed a bit_…

Okay, so that was rather paranoid, especially since he didn't really see any malice in Hood's eyes. But that didn't stop the backflips his stomach performed as the bridge continued to rock. "Please, Jason…" he ground out, gritting his teeth. "Just… _cut it out_."

Somehow, someway, the rocking stopped. Tim, having realized he's shut his eyes, opened them slowly to find Jason smirking at him, arms folding, standing perfectly still. Perfectly smug. "See? All ya had to do was say the 'p' word," he remarked, winking as he brushed his bangs out of his face. Jason than proceeded to wink again at Dick, who was starting towards them on the bridge with the demon spawn in tow, before he turned and started crossing the rest of the way. Yep. Totally worth staying if he got to torment Tim Drake and oppressor Wayne Jr. along the way.

So maybe Dick had known what the hell he was talking about when he'd said the hunt would be fun. Who knew?

Tim smothered his pathetic sigh of relief, and started following Jason towards sweet, blessed land, reminding himself never to find himself on the Gotham bridge at night across from the Red Hood.

Still, though, for some reason, his stupid cheek muscles wouldn't stop smiling.

Jason had just reached the end of the bridge, and was preparing to shoot a teasing remark back to Tim, when he heard a terrifying _CRACK_ echo throughout the nearby area, followed by an incoherent _scream_ from Damian and a cry from Tim. He turned around, heart pounding with sudden dread; it took a few moments before the situation sunk in, and when it did, he froze completely.

Tim and Damian were still on the bridge, hollering in panic. And Dick was gone, a gaping hole of splintering wood left in his wake.


	6. Chapter 6

He wasn't sure what he'd been thinking when he'd jumped; if anyone asked, he'd probably just say it was his old Robin instincts kicking in, or maybe the fact that he didn't want Batman on his tail because he'd gotten his Golden Boy killed.

In reality, though, his mental thoughts were more along the lines of: _HOLY SHIT DICK JUST COLLAPSED UNDER THE BRIDGE AFTER I ROCKED THE SHIT OUT OF IT NOW I'D BETTER GO GET HIM BEFORE BRUCE COMES AFTER ME WITH THE FORCE OF THE ENTIRE JUSTICE LEAGUE NOW I'M GONNA JUMP HOLY CRAP I JUST JUMPED WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME?!_

Yeah; but nobody needed to know that, did they?

Jason hit the water in a clumsy swan dive, disappearing beneath the white foam before popping back up, hollering out Dick's name. Tim and Damian watched, mouths gaping, as their older brother vanished with the current around a bend.

And from where Dick was hanging onto the bottom rope supports of the bridge, he gaped too. "Jay?!" he called out, horrified. "What did he just do?!"

"I think he just jumped after," Tim said, biting his lip to either laugh or wince as he dragged Dick back onto the solid boards of the bridge.

Damian snorted. "Idiot. I believe he assumed you'd fallen into the river, Grayson."

Now Tim was definitely ready to laugh. "Your knight in shining armor."

Dick was less than amused. "We've gotta go after him before he drowns or kills himself! Come on!"

The three raced across the rest of the bridge and started down the trail leading down the water's edge, Tim hoping Bruce hadn't just seen the scenario from afar. It'd put him into a panic attack for sure, and he'd have the batplane come soaring in for a rescue mission no doubt. To his relief, when he looked over to the small hill their father had been on a few moments before, there was no sign of the Batman, and he nodded in content. Good. They could handle this themselves anyway.

"Jason!" Dick was hollering at the top of his lungs, racing down the embankments as adrenaline pumped through his veins. "Jay! Jay!" He glanced over his shoulder at his two younger siblings. "Call for him!"

Tim sighed resignedly. "Jason!" he called. "Jason, where are you!"

"Todd!" Damian yelled in a halfhearted whining tone. "Todd, get your ass out here now, you stupid…"

"Dami," Dick cut him off as he swung over a small river using an overhead branch. He landed hard on the ground and stood there, listening. "Hey! Hear that!" His pulse sped up as he heard Jason choking out his name somewhere nearby. "Come on! He's close!"

They ran around for several more minutes before finding the wet Red Hood being swept down the river, his leather jacket missing, his head barely above water as he approached the rapids. "There he is!" Dick shouted out. "Damn it! Look for something we can throw at him! A large stick or something…" His voice trailed off as he noticed Tim yanking his belt off.

Damian raised an eyebrow. "Seriously, Drake, this is not to the time to relieve yourself. If you can't hold your own water, you can't…"

Tim bat-glared him. "I'm _not _using the bathroom," he said, pulling a face as he yanked on his belt buckle. Immediately, the leather extended, and Dick recognized one of the Cave's grapnel lines come out of the thing. "Timmy, ya hid a _grapnel line _in your _belt_?" He was impressed and stunned at the same time.

"Yell at me about not bringing any supplies later," Tim said. "Let's save Jason."

"Jason! Right."

The three of them tossed the line out, screaming for Jason to grab it. It took three tries, but eventually, Todd grabbed the thin rope, and Dick and Tim hauled him in. Damian watched, amused, as a sputtering, gagging Jason Todd was dragged on the bank, water being coughed up from his lungs as he gasped for dry air.

As soon as he spotted Dick, Jason's eyes were afire. "_Dick_?! What the hell?!"

Dick, who'd crouched down near his fallen brother, couldn't help but grin. "Aw… I'm really touched you jumped after me, Jaybird," he said sincerely while Damian snickered. "But I grabbed the bridge before I could fall; ya didn't have to jump."

Jason leaned back, staring at the sky. "Didn't have to jump… course I didn't have to jump…" He shook his head. _Stupid, stupid_. "Why the hell did I jump after you anyway?" he asked Dick sourly, to which Dick smiled.

"Whoa, guys." Tim's voice interrupted them. "Look at all the eggs."

Indeed, the nearby area was laden with a dozen of the small things, a few of them ordinary (carrying candies, no doubt), and a few elaborate ones that were solid colored but shimmering. Despite his earlier protests, Damian was the first one to take off after the plastic treats, with Tim hot on his heels.

"You okay, Jay?" Dick asked, helping him to his feet. "Want me to take you back to the parking lot, or…"

"And be the only wuss here who can't handle himself on a stupid _Easter egg hunt_," Jason replied hotly. "No way. I'm fine, just… don't be that stupid again, here me? Or I'll shoot you."

"Sure. Nice to know you care, though."

"I hate you."

"You jumped off a bridge for me."

"I hate you enough to care," Jason growled. "Now shut up and start moving before the two baby birds smash our eggs or something."

"Aw, Timmy wouldn't do that, he's a good sport…"

"And the demon spawn?"

"… let's go."

They ran to catch up to the others, and after they'd all gotten an egg or two, they began piecing their maps together. Immediately, it became obvious that they all had to generally start moving in the same direction. Tim found their course, and frowned as he laid eyes upon a series of dark tunnels. "Caves," he sighed. "Course it's caves."

"What's the matter?" Jason asked, smirking. "Scared of the dark?"

"No. Just worried you'll catch a chill in there and disturb your delicate immune system. Might catch pneumonia."

"You're lucky I don't have my guns."

"So scared."

Their argument was interrupted by Dick sprinting past, fists pumped into the air. "C'mon! Let's goooooooooo!" He was in the tunnels within a few seconds.

_And _there's _the rainbows and kitties. _


	7. Chapter 7

He hadn't seen it coming. That was the reason for all this mayhem. He should've been able to _sense _that there was something wrong, should've _known _that this day couldn't go an hour without some sort of chaos erupting. First Damian's tantrums, then Jason's swim, and _now_…

Well, it _was _a national park; Dick should've guessed that _one _of them would get lost.

Two of his brothers though? Second oldest being one of them? Oh, he'd let his hope of a fun day make him forgot just what _morons _they all could be sometimes, including himself. He never should've let Damian out of his sight, and he certainly shouldn't have suggested they all _split up _to find the child when calling for him had proven fruitless. _Ugh_.

"Well… this is going well." Tim's remark broke Dick out of his internal despairing. The pair was circling the area around the caves for the tenth time, because apparently the caverns weren't tunnels as they'd originally thought, and they'd already searched those.

Ever the optimist, Dick tried a smile. "We can still make this work! We just gotta find Dami and Jason, figure out what happened so we don't do it again, and then we're back on track! C'mon, they couldn't have gone far."

"It's Ascension, Dick! This place is huge!"

"Okay, let's not get ahead of ourselves. If Dami went anywhere, he'd be heading for the parking lot, to get this whole egg hunt over with; and Jason… Jason's too lazy to go very far."

Tim cocked a brow. "That's what we're basing our hope on? Damian's hatred of all this juvenile and the fact that Jason's a lazy ass with a gun?"

"Yup."

It took all his will power to not groan right then and there, but he managed it; Dick was trying so hard to make this work, the least Tim could do was not make the older boy feel worse. So he stayed silent, and kicked at the rocks and twigs on the ground. The _same _rocks and twigs they'd passed ten minutes ago, he realized, and this time he couldn't stop the moan that escaped his lips. "Dick, we just circled this place for the _third _time – let's face it. They're not around the caves anymore."

Dick pressed his lips together, forced to accept the truth. "Okay, you're probably right. So… where do we try next?"

"You said Dami would head back to the parking lot."

The older boy sighed. "But now I realize if that had happened, Bruce would've called one of our cells to tell us, and he hasn't done that."

"Maybe he called Jason."

"He didn't even know Jay had a cell."

"True. So… do _we _call Bruce to tell him what happened."

Silence.

"Right," Tim sighed, running a hand through his hair. "Bruce is our last resort." The teen looked around at the surrounding area, the bridges they'd crossed, the hiking trails to his left, and the forest to his right. "Trails then?"

Dick nodded. "Yeah. If we don't see any sign of them after a while of trying the paths, we'll go back to the bridges. And then the forest if we still can't find them."

"And… if they aren't in the forest either?"

"Then we call in Daddy Bats," Dick admitted, heading over towards where the trails started. His depressed mood didn't last long though; optimism leaked into his voice once more as he said, "Well, at least hopefully the two of them are together, right?"

Silence.

"Oh." Yeah, he'd forgotten.

Jason and Damian went about as well together as a drunk guy and a car. Or matches and dynamite. Or Bruce and delicate china.

Or something along those lines.

* * *

"Damn you, Todd!"

"What?!"

"Hit me with that glow stick again and I'll break your face."

"Come _on_ – it's a _glow stick_. Doesn't even hurt!"

"I'll have you arrested and charged with child abuse if you some much as _look _at me with that thing in your hands one more time."

Jason rolled his eyes, snickering and then pulling out the most mocking tone he could manage. "Yeah, I can see it now. You all grown up and in a support group… 'what happened to you, mr. damian?' 'oh, it was horrible, when I was a child, m-my brother would beat me.' 'oh, how terrible!' 'y-yes, h-he w-w-w-would beat me with a… with a…' 'with a what, mr. damian?' 'a glow stick! Oh, it was _horrific_, he would tap me with the glow stick _over and over and over_ no matter how many times I screamed at him to stop! H-he would beat me with it till, till the stick _glowed_!"

Damian's face contorted into a scowl that would've put the Dark Knight to shame as the youth pulled farther away from the older boy as far as he could manage; which wasn't very far at all. There was only ten feet between the two of them, and the rest of the area around them was nothing but dark, black, endless nothingness.

They were on the ledge of a cliff with the top being too high to reach, and the bottom unable to seen, and shit if Jason wasn't going to make Dick pay the price _dearly _when they got out of this situation.

If they got out of this situation.

How the hell had this happened?

Jason hadn't realized he'd spoken the last sentence aloud until he heard Damian scoff. "Are you an amnesia victim as well as a moron? I went off to relieve myself, you were wandering around quickly like the imbecile you are, you crashed into me, we fell, now we're here."

Right. That was the reason he was stuck in this situation. He'd _listened _to Dick panic about where the demon spawn had gone to, and then he'd made the horrific mistake of actually _caring _enough to go searching for the little devil. How could he forget? "You shouldn't have wandered off on your own," he growled in the direction of the other boy, refusing to look at him. "If you had bothered to _tell _Dick where you were going…"

"Privacy is one of the top ten luxuries of the United States of America; I thought maybe I'd take advantage of those rights."

"And look where it got ya, you little immigrant."

Damian's glare seemed much more effective at withering then Superman's heat vision, but remarkably, the child held his tongue this time.

Quiet reigned the air between them before Jason huffed. "I bet they're not even looking in the caves anymore."

"They've probably already gotten Father involved," Damian answered, less malice in his tone than before.

"What, ya really think Dickiebird and Princess Timmy have the guts to go to the big bad wolf and tell him he's lost his two cubs? Right. They're probably running around trying to find us like headless chickens when we're _right here in the cave_."

Damian shot the older boy a slightly curious look as he mentioned being one of Bruce's _cubs_ – but then again, the entire metaphor was ridiculous, so he shrugged it off. "Grayson, at least, holds some higher intelligence than Drake," he commented. "It won't be much longer."

"Sure." Impatient, Jason tapped the glow stick – he always carried them around, along with some energy bars and a pocket knife – against his knee, the little object right now their only source of light.

It died five minutes later, and they were plunged into darkness. It made him tense, but other than that he didn't react; still, though, Jason half expected the little demon to crawl on over and curl up next to him from the sudden blackness all around.

Instead…

"TODD, DON'T YOU POKE ME AGAIN!"

"I'M NOT POKING YOU!"


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: i remember when i first published this story someone jokingly reviewed that they hoped this story wouldn't take a whole year to write. i look at that review now and both laugh and cry.**

* * *

"WE'RE DOOMED," cried out a washed-out, fearful, despairing Timothy Drake, as he fell to his knees beside a large boulder and buried his face into his arms with a loud, desperate weeping. "They're lost to Ascension forever! We'll never see them again… oh, what shall we ever tell dear father? And poor Alfred, will his heart be able to take it? Oh it's over, I tell you, it's over, if only…!"

Alright. So the groans that now came ever five minutes from Tim, along with a scuff of his shoe against the rocks and the ever pursing of his lips into a thin line weren't quite as dramatic an exclaim as the above passage, but this was what played through Tim's head and it gave him both an amused sensation, and a sinking feeling that it would not be long until he truly was driven to such extremes.

They were trekking along the paths, back up near their starting point (after doing a quite thorough search of the river for Jason, just in case), and Dick continued to dip up and down like some roller coaster with a big happy smiley face on the front, and a big warning sign with a skull on the back. Currently, at least, he was in his positive mood, and Tim was spared the actual _heartbreak_ anyone felt whenever the young man wore that dark-eyed, frowning expression that showed he was getting weary to the bone.

"You know, maybe some of Dami's eggs had rolled out of his basket and off somewhere, and he'd gone to get them," he was currently offering as a theory. "Jason could've gone off to help him and they're probably…!"

"Please, Dick," Tim nearly begged. "Don't say the caves. We _searched _the caves. Over a dozen times. If they went back there, they would've seen we wore the ground down to the Earth's core and they'd head back here. The starting point. Maybe we should just wait here a half hour or something."

Dick Grayson didn't wait very well. Even now, standing in place, he was bouncing on his heels – seemingly the personification of hyperactive, maybe a bit too much caffeine, though Tim could see the worry flickering across his blue eyes.

"Just a half hour, Dick. If all _four _of us are moving around, we'll never find each other. Not in this place."

There was a acquiescent sigh from the older boy, to Tim's relief, after only a moment of hesitancy, and Dick dropped down to sit on the ground, cross-legged atop a soft patch of grass, Tim soon mimicking him. A glance over at the older one told him that the rainbow juice was dying down, and stifling yet another exhale, the boy played with the blades of grass and wildflowers near his knee, fingers picking at the petals and tips.

"You think they're together… right, Timmy?"

Tim looked up to see the roller coaster had hit the ground _hard_ at the moment; Dick lying back and staring at the sky, hands tightly clasped behind his head, jaw clenched. White plastic bag lying mostly-forgotten at his feet – somehow, both brothers had managed to keep a hold on their treasures throughout their search. The idea that Jason and Damian _weren't _together but were in fact separated, each on their own, each entirely not used to leaving the pavement and alleys of Gotham City, ate away like a parasite. It made even Tim shift, and duck his head briefly, before turning his eyes to the scenery of Ascension, the cascading falls and the vast evergreen clouds.

"I'm sure they are, Dick," he returned, after a moment. "I mean, they both left at the same time. And they were bickering together most of the time when we _did _see them, so…"

"You don't think they hurt each other, do you?"

Nothing could've expected Tim for _that_ – for doubt over the fact that family could triumph trial, and that there was still hope for this ragtag group of orphans and butlers, to leech into Dick's mind. Tim's eyes widened, and his gaze snapped rather dramatically to Dick again. The young man hadn't moved, nor had his stoic expression changed; but there was a flurry of activity behind his eyes, thoughts speeding through him faster than the Gotham train. Tim could see, and after a shocked pause of silence, he swallowed, and looked down with shame to his lap. The idea had come into his head more than once, though he'd never dared to speak it aloud.

A drunk guy and a car. Dynamite and matches. Bruce and fine china. They just didn't _work together_. Didn't belong together.

"No," Tim replied after a few moments, for Dick's sake. All for Dick's sake. "No, they wouldn't. They wouldn't go that far."

_Please_. Tim shut his eyes briefly, leaning back against a nearby stump, and felt the breeze ruffle raven lock's from his face; thoughts trailed back to service that morning, the stained glass windows and the _peace _that came with the Easter Mass and the knowledge the day had begun.

_Please. Let them be safe. _A brief glance at Dick. _For his sake_.

* * *

"Everything you say everything you do…!"

"Todd."

"…is _freaking me out_! Freaking me out!"

"TODD."

"You know we used to be the same, who the hell are youuuuu…?"

"Todd!"

"You're freaking me out! Freaking meeee oooooout…!"

"_ENOUGH_!" Damien bounded to his feet, stomping the few feet of rock that was between him and Jason and sticking a finger into the older boy's face, causing Jason to stop his singing and dancing to snicker down at the small child.

"What's that, Babywing? Ya want an encore?"

Damian's face was screwed up into a petulant storm of anger and irritation. "I have endured nearly an hour of your high-pitched, off tune voice singing outrageous covers of Simple Plan harmonies, and my patience is now _non-existent_!"

Jason rolled his eyes, crossing his arms and huffing as he looked at him. "Because listening to you _whine _like an robin kicked out of the nest for the first time is _so _much better," he shot back.

"At least my voice does not mingle with that of a dying cat when I reach a certain note."

"No, it's _every _note; prepubescent squealing."

He was tired. Lost. Grayson was somewhere in the vast area of Ascension, with Drake, and he was left alone with the _Red Hood_, in all of his irritating, infuriating glory. It was nearly pitch black. He'd eaten the rest of the candy from his eggs. It was cold down here. Damian Wayne had had enough to push his very-frail buttons for one day, and a fist lashed out without remorse at Jason Todd's jaw, the _CRACK_ that resounded from the impact sending a shiver of pleasure through the youth's mind. Without hesitation, as soon as the hit landed, Damian let out a loud, frustrated cry and pounced.

"DAMIAN! DAMN YOU, GET THE HELL OFF OF ME! _DAMIAN_!"

Climbing and clinging to his back Damian grabbed a fistful of the front of Todd's shirt and hung on while Jason growled, face stinging, stumbling back and forth while Damian more or less steered him around with a harsh, cold laugh.

"YOU LITTLE IMP!"

"I will no longer endure any more of your _horrendous_ singing voice while we are in this present situation!" Damian hollered defiantly, grinning wildly as Jason tripped and slammed face-first into the rock face. He snapped his jaws at the fingers that tried to pry at him, and hearing the sound, Jason's hands flew away from him as he growled, looking incredulous and furious. "ARE YOU BITING AT ME?"

"It is a shame I missed."

"GET OFF!"

Ripping out the dead glow stick from his pocket Jason began pointlessly slapping the thing at where he believed Damian's face to be, while poking wildly with his other hand at the boy's side. "FEEL THAT? NOW _THAT'S _ME POKING YOU! YOU FEEL IT? YOU FEEL IT?"

He felt it. And thus was how Jason Todd and Damian Wayne tumbled off the edge of the small ledge; as Damian released Jason in an impulsive move to rip away from him the offensive fingers and that _damn _glow stick. Falling back when he lost the grip, and with his legs still locked around Jason's waste, so did he also go tumbling down, into the darkness.

A heavy cry from Damian, a mixture of sudden fear and rage.

And one quickly bellowed, "Prepubescent voice!" from Jason.


End file.
